


one foot in front of the other

by falconwilson



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Crushes, Developing Relationship, Friends to Lovers, Getting to Know Each Other, M/M, Marvel Cameos, Running, Strangers to Lovers, Training, mentions of other marvel characters - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-19
Updated: 2021-03-19
Packaged: 2021-03-27 02:13:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,285
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30115587
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/falconwilson/pseuds/falconwilson
Summary: When his best friend Steve begs him to run a marathon with him as a way to spend more time together, Bucky agrees. But he doesn’t have the faintest idea about running. Enter Sam Wilson, morning running buddy and other best friend of Steve, who agreed to help Bucky as a favor.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Sam Wilson
Comments: 10
Kudos: 63





	one foot in front of the other

**Author's Note:**

> tumblr [@falconwilson](https://falconwilson.tumblr.com/)
> 
> me: let’s write a simple one shot enemies to lovers where bucky is forced to run in a marathon by steve and ends up training with sam who he hates.  
> my brain: ends up writing a 6k fic that’s like 10% running and 90% everything else and accidentally create a whole new universe by throwing in random cameos of other mcu characters and making them have new personalities.
> 
> when i came up with this idea, it was supposed to be a running fic to celebrate the premiere of tfatws and motivate me to go running as exercising. then i added in too many details and thought i was clever to reference a couple of mcu characters and this is the result. ugh, i wrote this in one day and i wanted it to be enemies to lovers. 
> 
> also, please excuse the ooc, this is my first time writing mcu and i haven’t got the hang of writing in their voices yet. enjoy! now i’m off to go watch the pilot now. 💓
> 
> (p.s. listen to [this](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2KSzW0CiSxanOpWryT8zOR)\- a good sambucky enemies to lovers playlist)

If he could trace back the events leading up to this moment, Bucky knows it would lead back to Steve Rogers.

His best friend since childhood, he is the single reason why Bucky is currently dying of breath next to a well muscular man who isn’t even out of breath or sweating, who is an asshole.

Sam Wilson burst into his life like a comet and it’s all thanks to Steve.

✶

He should have known the minute puppy eyes were thrown in his direction that something was up. Whenever that happens, Bucky ends up making a fool out of himself no matter what the activity is. Not even that time he had been forced to make balloon animals at a children’s birthday party was safe.

So when Steve calls to ask if he can treat Bucky to lunch, he is immediately suspicious. The only time that Steve pays for food for both of them is when he needs a favor or he’s about to make Bucky do something he desperately doesn’t want to do. Bucky finds himself on guard for the rest of the morning, pacing and coming up with ideas of what Steve wants from him.

He’s antsy by the time lunch comes around and he’s meeting Steve at the cafe. When he steps in, he is briefly distracted by another man at the counter who is waiting for his order. He is chatting with Sharon, the owner and not seeing Steve around, Bucky uses that time wisely to check the guy out.

His first glance gets him a charming smile, white teeth that stand out against his dark skin, the tiny gap between his two front teeth causing him to look endearing. His arms bugle out of the sleeves of his t-shirt and Bucky is not embarrassed to say that he’s thinking of them. That he wants those biceps to choke him a little, and a low warmth pools at the bottom of his stomach.

He jumps, startled when a hand claps his shoulder and he draws his eyes away from the handsome man, turning around to find Steve smiling down at him.

“Punk,” he snarls, pushing Steve’s hand away as he wanders off to find a table for the two of them. Like usual, Steve goes in the opposite direction, heading up to the counter to put in their order. It’s a routine for both of them, Bucky has that intensity that allows him to stare down people so they won’t steal their regular table and Steve is the more social one out of the both of them, always willing to talk and listen to others, meaning that he’s the one to order for them.

He looks back at the counter, feeling something like disappointment sink in when Bucky notices the man from earlier has disappeared. He slouches in his seat, frowning as he ponders the possibility of seeing him again. Would Bucky actually ask him out or would he chicken out and just end up staring creepily at him? Guess he’ll never know.

He comes back to the present when Steve makes his way over, two plates in hand, full of food. He carefully drops them on the table, rearranging them to his liking, and pleased with it, finally folds himself into the chair. This is what having an artistic best friend is like, especially when Bucky notices that the pancake has been decorated with a very detailed snowflake on it. It even has different colors and it certainly doesn’t look like something Sharon would make.

He glares up at Steve, who is innocently eating his scrambled eggs and pokes him in the shoulder. The little shit his best friend is, just ignores him and Bucky takes that as a challenge, poking him harder and harder until Steve acknowledges him in defeat.

“What?” Steve questions, continuing to eat as Bucky glares harder, gesturing to his work of art meal.

“Ok, cut the crap. What is this?”

“What do you mean ‘what is this’? It’s your food?”

“Not that smartass. What do you want from me?”

Steve lasts a minute before he breaks, pulling out the puppy eyes as he explains that he wants something. Bucky in turn snorts, because this is all predictable and he knows whatever Steve asks for, Bucky will do.

“I may or may not have signed us up for a marathon,” Steve sheepishly says, and Bucky snaps straight up at that.

“What?!?” He exclaims, and he must have said that really loud, because Sharon throws a glare at him from across the room. Behind her Clint makes a dramatic showing of taking out his hearing aids, and Bucky flips him off in reply. As usual, Clint doesn’t even react, flipping him back and whistling happily as he takes another sip of coffee, Sharon immediately slapping him in the shoulder as she starts aggressively signing to him that he’s paying for that.

Steve ignores them all, continuing on his conversation as if there was no interruption. “Listen Buck, we haven’t really had much time to spend together, and I thought this could be fun to do.”

Which, he’s right honestly. They haven’t spend much time with each other lately. Steve is busy planning out lesson plans for his students, grading art projects and taking on new commissions for clients. Bucky will still forever be impressed that Steve got paid to paint something for Tony Stark, who acted in many of Bucky’s favorite movies. His claim to fame is that Tony Stark owns one of his best friend’s paintings.

Bucky on the other hand, is running around left and right trying to finish up his latest novel. As the author known as J. Buchanan, he quickly skyrocketed to the top of the New York Bestsellers’ list when the first of his series, White Wolf, about two best friends fighting in the war accidentally time travel into the future and discover that they will become superheroes, became a massive hit. It was just an idea he had based on Steve and himself, inspired by his fascination of history as a child. It wasn’t meant to become a full on book series that just keeps adding on new characters based on his friends and family.

Steve to no one’s surprise, was the proudest, claiming that he knew Bucky would be well known one day, even though he writes under a pen name, makes sure there are no pictures of himself on his books, and never has done an interview or a reading of his books. But soon fans asked for more on the world he created and now there’s talks about movie deals about his books and it’s really getting out of hand. Once again, this can all be blamed on Steve Rogers, who found the notebook of scribbles Bucky has collected over the years and encouraged him to use it when Bucky was lamenting over his struggles of getting a job after college with his English major. It did not help that he was drunk when this happened and woke up with a massive hangover to Steve forcing him to make those ideas into a book. It is also his fault that one of the main characters is based on him.

His best friend quickly backstops when he notices the guilt creeping up on Bucky’s face. “No, no, it’s not your fault. We’ve both just been busy, but that’s good. Besides, you know how excited I am to read your new book? You haven’t told me anything about it yet. Who’s it about?”

Who is it about? Even Bucky can’t tell at this point. Every book he’s written about has a main character that is based on someone he knows. There’s one where Sharon the cafe owner became a secret agent when she discovers her grandmother created a government agency and must stop time traveling pirates from changing events. A book about Clint who went from coffee shop barista to archery vigilante when he ends up in the middle of a battle having to patch up a lieutenant from the same war as the first book. Even a book about Clint’s Russian girlfriend who is a bodyguard for a famous engineer based on Tony Stark and they must work together when he accidentally creates a time travel machine that sends them into an alternate universe where they are different people. The latest novel he’s working on, he can’t even figure it out.

He’s written the bones of the story, the structure, but inspiration has struck out when it comes to his main character. He doesn’t know who it is, and he has no idea who it will be based on. Though, now that he’s thinking about it, that handsome guy seemed like he was quality material…

No, stop. He’s not about to write a character based on some random guy he saw for like two seconds. Even though he was beautiful and looked like he could be a hero, Bucky is not about to be a creepy stalker.

“Um, can’t tell you yet?” He shrugs, attempting to deflect and Steve squints at him, before letting him off the hook.

“Fine, anyways as I was saying, I just thought this would be good for us. We’d be able to spend some time together, maybe have some fun, c’mon Buck!”

“First of all, who said I was doing this?” That garners an eye roll from Steve and Bucky grunts, accepting defeat.

“Second, I don’t run,” Bucky continues and Steve quickly interrupts.

“Well you can learn, I’m good at running!”

“You’re only good at running when someone’s chasing you,” Bucky counters. They bicker the rest of the time between arguing that Bucky should do it and finishing up the rest of their food. When they part, he has successfully distracted Steve, ending their conversation of Bucky running by talking about their old gym teacher Mr. Phillips, who spent most of their high school years trying to get Steve from scrawny to fit.

Bucky spends the rest of the afternoon trying to fight off writer’s block and fantasizing about that man from the cafe. He calls it a night when he accidentally ends up writing a whole paragraph about deep chocolate eyes and adorable teeth gaps.

When he wakes up, he is faced with a text from Steve asking to meet up at the park to start training. Bucky instead face plants back into bed, cursing the existence of his best friend and wondering whether he was actually distracted by talks of their teacher that he could have forgotten about the idea.

✶

Out of spite, Bucky shows up ten minutes late only to be confused when he’s rewarded with the sight of the handsome dark man again, though this time in the park and…talking to his best friend?

Jogging over casually, Bucky comes to a stop in front of them, even more confused because they’re both laughing and Steve’s hands are flailing around like the nerd he is. That usually means one of two things: either he’s talking about something funny in his life or he’s talking about something funny in his life and it’s about Bucky. Given the frequency of this, it never means good things for Bucky.

Sneaking up behind Steve, he accidentally catches the eye of the other man, who’s eyes widen and then smirks mischievously, staying quiet when Bucky indicates him to and shoves Steve hard enough that he falls onto the ground gracelessly.

“Huh, that’s what you get jerk, for talking about me behind my back,” he sasses as Steve rolls his eyes while trying to get back when he notices Bucky.

“Buck, this is Sam. Sam, this is Bucky,” Steve introduces and Bucky’s mind is reeling, trying to connect the man he was checking out yesterday with the guy that Steve has designated his other best friend, who works as a guidance counselor at his school.

This is already shaping up to be a disaster and Bucky hasn’t even started running yet. Yup, he’s gonna die and on his gravestone will definitely say: here lies James Buchanan ‘Bucky’ Barnes, who died at the mercy of his best friend.

“Nice to meet you, Bucky, hope Steve isn’t spreading rumors about me.” Sam offers his hand and Bucky shakes it, willing away the shock on his face.

Bucky grins, “tell me Sam, did he also ask you to come, as a favor?”

He takes Sam’s matching grin as an answer and shakes his head mockingly.

“Did he really put newspapers in his shoes?”

Oh yeah, Bucky’s gonna enjoy this.

Three miles later, he wants to take that statement back.

The beginning was okay. He and Sam traded barbs about Steve, who huffed at them but was secretly glad they were getting along. But the longer they went, the slower Bucky lagged. It certainly didn’t help that apparently the other two were running buddies, who spent every morning meeting up to run around the park like the freaks they were. And like assholes, they took brief breaks, not cause they needed it, but because it looked like Bucky was dying.

Though he did watch in amusement, falling behind, as Steve and Sam took turns passing each other, shouting, “on your left!” It was probably an inside joke, but anyone who could beat Steve, he respects. It’s what he deserves, ever since he surpassed Bucky and finally grew up into a real boy. Though he still takes to calling Steve ‘Pinocchio’ sometimes.

By the time they call it quits, Bucky has died at least ten times and decides he truly hates Sam.

Sam, who took to Bucky like a new project, running next to him and alternating between giving encouragement and insulting him. Who didn’t even break a sweat compared to Bucky, who looks drenched and winded. Who looks too good for someone who’s exercising, who is charming and witty. Sam, who tries to distract him by asking for embarrassing stories about Steve and even tells some of his own.

Bucky takes one look at this greek god, who’s laughter is musical and has a sweet personality between his good looks, and curses Steve for making him do this.

Bucky leaves with a new phone number, a plan to meet up for more training, and a smile that won’t leave his face as he watches the other two continue to run.

He is screwed and a little part of him maybe he doesn’t really hate Sam.

✶

Bucky is screwed. Big time and he can’t stop.

The training sessions continue, only with a big difference.

When he shows up to the second one, there is a lack of Steve and Sam quickly explains that he said that he’s been busy. Apparently one of the other teachers got in an accident and has been placed on leave, causing Steve to fill in, and he’s trying to navigate teaching those classes as well as his own. So now it’s just Sam and Bucky running, side by side, occasionally talking and sometime just comfort silence. It’s nice, in a way that Bucky doesn’t have with his other friends.

When they do talk, it’s a lot of bickering, comeback after comeback, and if Bucky didn’t notice Sam before, he probably would have hated him. Hearing all about Sam Wilson, he couldn’t help but be envious. Sam, who was Steve’s other best friend, a man who chose to be a school counselor because his own childhood best friend Riley had a hard time in school due to a rough household. The fact that he was kind and funny, good with kids, and took Steve under his wing when he was the newcomer at the high school. How he helped his younger sister raise his nephew, especially when she had night shifts at the hospital. That he spend his free time figuring out new games that would help students talk to him and research things like tiktok to relate to them. Even Bucky wouldn’t do that, tiktok is confusing and there are too many teenagers on there doing dumb stuff. Sam, who hangs out with Steve sometimes, helps him figure out what things his students reference and mixes those with his art lessons.

Bucky did enjoy that time Steve assigned his students to put their own artistic twist on a meme of their own choosing. Steve proudly showed them off and a couple of them were funny, even though Bucky had to google them.

If he didn’t check Sam out at the cafe before they met, Bucky would have been trying to one up the man on being best friend of the year.

Instead, he finds his attentiveness has turned into an all out crush.

Bucky spends the time after each run recounting their interactions, memorizing the brush of Sam’s fingers against his when he passed over a water bottle, remembering the crease in the edge of his eyes when he smiled widely, the laughter that bubbled out of him when Bucky made a good joke. The stubble that lined his sharp jaw, which filled Bucky’s mind with images of that five o’clock shadow rubbing against the inside of his thighs.

His mind is filled with ideas of what Sam does in his day. Coming up with scenarios of Sam giving advice to a student in his office, probably arguing about a tv show they enjoyed, making dinner with his nephew, looking over a recipe on the counter. Maybe going for laps at the park when he has a bad day, channeling his frustrations into miles.

Soon it spills into his writing.

He ends up writing about a hero who never wanted to be a hero in the first place. The main character is a man who recently gained a promotion in an after school program and his biggest accomplish is watching kids he’s worked with grow into extraordinary people. He’s certainly not expecting one of those kids to come back from the future to ask him to help save the world. He finds himself the leader of a group of people including one of his students to stop a villain keen on revenge after his city was destroyed based on one decision made in the past.

Without subconsciously realizing, Bucky is writing about Sam. He’s putting in details that came from his life, his character is even described to look like Sam, and Bucky can’t stop.

At the same time it is terrible.

He’s sore for weeks, losing feeling in his legs. Bucky is constantly chugging down water, wondering where all that liquid goes, and he finds himself eating all the time. He has blisters on his feet from his running shoes, and he wonders when he will collapse from exhaustion. His agent usually calls around the same time after he finishes running and even she asks if he needs a doctor, cause he sounds out of breath. It is torture, especially because every week they meet up for lunch, Steve asks for progress reports, listening as Bucky talks about how many miles he’s logged, even though Steve can’t really train with him. Bucky feels like he’s in boot camp and he’s reporting to his superior.

Death may be sweet though, because he learns so much about Sam, more than he’s heard about from Steve.

He learns about many cooking adventures he has, the recipes Sam hoards in his apartment, because his family owns a restaurant back home and he spent his childhood helping out there. That one time he had accidentally left the lid off of the blender causing it to explode all the contents over the kitchen, how he had mistaken sugar with salt which ended up being for a school bake sale, even a simple cookie session with his nephew becoming an all out food fight because Sam had dropped the flour too high into the bowl, causing it to burst into the air.

Bucky now knows all about the struggles his best friend Riley had in high school, that lead Sam in the direction of becoming a school counselor. How they still stay in touch despite living in different areas and how Riley has his own family that Sam has taken to his own. He talks about the hard days where he had been the one for Riley to confide in about being alone and dreaming of a life where he could be happy. How his parents didn’t understand and that Sam was the only one who did because he was willing to listen.

He learns that Sam attends a weekly trivia night because his nephew’s best friend, Cassie tells him all the time about her father whining because his team is now down one contestant and his nephew started bragging about how Sam is so smart. Now Sam plays trivia with Cassie’s dad, his girlfriend, and her father, who are undefeated champions every week, even though Sam constantly butts heads with Cassie’s dad, Scott. Apparently his girlfriend’s dad keeps naming their team after different types of ants by playing the senior citizen card, which is hilarious to Bucky because Sam can now recite most species of ants off the top of his head. Sam keeps getting outvoted because he wants birds as team names but everyone else has been threatened to choose the ant names.

Bucky offers up information about himself in turn.

He talks about growing up with Steve, having to protect him from bullies and sometimes having to hold them back, because Steve has a big mouth that won’t stop running. He even had to pocket a dictionary at all times, because Steve likes to throw big words at bullies in order to confuse them, and later on Bucky would look them up, snorting in amusement at the definitions. He quietly confides in how his family practically adopted Steve after his mother died in high school, and that his sister had a tiny crush on Steve. How Steve spent weeks not talking, his head stuck in a sketchbook, but slowly Bucky would pull him out of it and encouraged him to major in art at college.

Bucky brags about his sister, who is currently working as a psychic. How she became obsessed when she came across tarot cards at a thrift store when they spent time in New York City during summer break and she would read website after website about destiny and fate. Even though Bucky doesn’t believe in any of that stuff, he always supported her, even backed up her decision when she told their parents that she wanted to open her own store one day. She still went to college and majored in psychology, but Bucky still remembers those days when he was her only client and how she practiced all that stuff on him.

He talks about his neighbors, who are both retired pilots and are now raising a daughter together. Carol, who is a private investigator with her partner, working to reconnect lost ones with families. Maria, who is a mechanic, constantly ragging on him to take care of his motorcycle better. Their daughter, who looks to her mothers as role models, likes to tell him facts about space and the stars, how amazed she is that there’s a whole universe that hasn’t been discovered by anyone. They even have a cat, which is inspiring Bucky to think about getting his own.

What he doesn’t tell Sam about is his job, even though the man always makes it a challenge not to when he asks every running session.

Writing is a very personal thing for him. It took him a couple of years to tell his family who he really is, and by that time, he had written several books in the series. Even when he writes main characters based on others, Bucky is careful to make sure personal details can’t be connected. Whenever people ask what he does for a living, he fibs and says he writes, but nothing they’ve ever read. Steve is the only one that knew from the beginning, because he’s the one that came up with the idea for Bucky to become an author. But no one he knows has ever guessed what he’s written or who he really is.

Sam though, takes a personal interest in it. Tossing out name after name at him hoping one lands correctly. At some point, he even had it in his head that Bucky wrote romantic novels.

“Like think about it, you’re one of those mysterious lone wolves. You probably have some secret journal stashed under your bed and you write out long sentences about girls you used to pine for. Some blonde girl who was the one who got away, or maybe a guy you had a one night stand with that you still think about on rainy days.”

“Listen, the last thing I would ever write about is some long lost love and base a character on them,” Bucky retorts, but on the inside he’s secretly panicking. After all, isn’t that what he’s doing with Sam? When he goes home, he makes sure to change the color of his main characters’s eyes to more of a light hazel shade. Though in his head, it still reads as a dark brown, but that’s only for him.

Some days, Sam shares theories about why Bucky doesn’t talk about his job.

“Are you a spy, man? A secret Russian agent who is sent to assassinate important figures? I can imagine it, you probably wear a mask.” Sam grins at him, not even huffing out of breath.

“Do I look like a spy?” Bucky knows he does not. Spies are not having trouble trying to finish up five miles, they’re usually running way more than that. It seems like chasing bad guys may be more than a marathon run.

“Or you’re like a billionaire who created a one of the kind machine that helps the government somehow and you can’t talk about it cause you signed a contract. If you do, they probably have a laser trained on you to kill you on spot.” Sam raises his eyebrows at him the next time. “Am I right? Wait, no. Just blink twice for yes.”

Bucky bursts into laughter, having to pause as he bends down, resting his forearms on his thighs. “Nope.”

“Am I getting closer?”

“Should I blink once for no?”

✶

Weeks turn into months, and soon the marathon is approaching.

Steve returns to train with them and the one on one time turns into the three of them getting brunch afterwards.

Bucky misses that alone time with Sam, but he is glad to spend time with Steve again.

With the marathon, comes the finish of his novel. As promised, Bucky invites Steve to his place one night and hands him the laptop to read. Unable to watch, as usual he spends that time doing errands he’s been putting over trying to finish all those deadlines. By the time the pizza arrives, and he’s just done the last chore on his list, Steve is coming back to the present.

“Buck? Can I ask you something?”

“Who’s it about?” Bucky suggests.

Steve shakes his head. “No. Do you have a crush on Sam?”

“What, no. No. Why would you ask that?”

Steve turns back to the laptop, scrolling down and reading a few words. “ _‘He had kind eyes, and kinder words. When working with kids, he was the one helping to shape their future. He would spend hours trying to figure them out like puzzles, finding new pieces and wondering how they fit together. They were like those birds he loved to watch at the zoo, flying around attempting to find their place in the world. Broken birds, and all he wanted was to bundle them up in the nest before they were ready to spread their wings.’_ That sounds like Sam.”

“No it doesn’t.”

“Bucky.”

“Steve.”

“Look me straight in the eyes and tell me this isn’t based on Sam.”

Bucky forces himself to look at Steve, but says nothing.

“Hah! I knew it! Nat owes me twenty bucks!”

“What?!?”

Steve just grins, “I bet her that you’d like Sam if you met him. She said no, because you’d probably be jealous and hate him.”

Bucky just grumbles unhappily, muttering under his breath about backstabbing friends as he pulls a slice out of the pizza box.

“Moving on, what did you think of the book?”

“Well I think…you should ask Sam out.”

“Steve. That’s not about the book.”

They stare down each other for a few minutes until Steve bows his head in defeat.

“Fine, we’ll talk about the book. But we will get back to Sam, I swear we will.”

“Any day now, punk. I still have to send the approval to my agent.”

“Okay, first of all, thank you for finally putting in an animal sidekick. I was wondering how long it would take honestly…”

✶

Steve spills the beans to the rest of their friends, and Bucky is faced with teasing from all sides of his circle.

Natasha smacks him in the shoulder for making her lose the bet.

“That’s what you get for making me lose twenty bucks. Thought Russians were suppose to stay together, Barnes. Now tell me, are you gonna ask him out, or you gonna make him wait?”

Clint and Sharon list romantic ideas for him to use on Sam when he hangs around the cafe, Bucky making good use of the wifi because his apartment’s is shit especially when he’s trading emails with his team about the new book.

“Coffee is romantic, Sharon, don’t be an uncultured swine.”

Sharon just shakes her head in disappointment. “I don’t think you’re using that right.”

“Huh. But that’s what Katie told me.”

“I’m pretty sure she’s messing with you Clint,” Bucky chimes in absentmindedly, attention drawn to picking a cover for the book.

Carol and Maria corner him when he comes back from one of his sessions, Sam walking him because his place is on the way.

Carol whistles jokingly, and watches as a blush rises on both of the men’s face as they go their separate ways. Maria rolls out from under her truck at that sound, sitting up to take a look. Their daughter Monica sits in the passenger seat, legs dangling from the open door, ignoring everyone with her head in her book.

Bucky is quick to shush her, but that teasing grin is still on Carol’s face as she shares a look with Maria. He looks at each one of them, a matching smirk on their face, before they pounce on him for information. He ends up stammering about his situation, how Sam is helping him train for a marathon, and accidentally starts waxing poetry on his figure. Unfortunately, neither women is charitable to stop him in his rant, and Bucky turns red in the face by the time he puts his foot in his mouth. The mischievous twinkle in their eyes screams potential blackmail material in his face and he quickly runs off, their maniac laughter bouncing off the walls as he makes his way back up to his apartment.

He gets a phone call from his sister, who asks him if he wants her to read his palm and help figure out his love life. He hangs out quickly before she does something like draw the card ‘the lovers’ for him and figure out the identity of his soulmate.

Even strangers take notice, and Bucky realizes he needs to do something about it.

One time Sam brought him to the bar where trivia night is hosted. He kept company, wanting to have a drink or two after freaking out over the announcement that his new book was being released soon. Sam offered and now here he was watching as Sam and his team (Scott, his girlfriend Hope, and her father Hank) answer question after question, not getting a single one wrong out of them. He also learned a new species of ants and had to endure a lecture about it from Hank, who looked appalled that Bucky didn’t know much about them.

When Sam goes up to the bar to get refills, he brushes his knuckles against Bucky’s side teasingly and he shivers. Hank’s gone to the bathroom, and Scott is occupied by his phone, so Hope turns to him for conversation.

“So, you gonna do anything about it?”

“About what?” Bucky asks dumbly, even though he knows exactly what she’s talking about.

Hope is smart, stubborn, and sneaky, some of the qualities that make her dominate at trivia, and she is not fooled by him.

“You know what. You’re like seconds away from melting into a puddle because of Sam.”

Before Bucky can respond to that, Hank comes back and levels a glare at him. “Even I noticed young man, and I don’t even care.” Which, coming from a man who can talk about ants for hours, says something.

In the end, he goes back to the start. He goes to Steve.

✶

“So what you’re saying is, you don’t know how to ask Sam out?” Steve asks distractingly, busy grading this week’s art assignments, still in the same spot as earlier, when Bucky randomly showed up at his place after trivia night. Pacing the length of the apartment, Bucky explains his predicament and his lack of solution.

“Yes, okay. Yes, you were right, I like Sam, and I based the character on him,” Bucky snaps, slumping into the couch with his head in his hands. He doesn’t know what to do or if Sam was even on the same page. Did he even like Bucky? Would he been willing to give him a chance? What if Bucky asks him out and he says no? What is he suppose to do?

He feels the couch sink as another weight joins him, and soon Steve’s hand is cupping his shoulder. He’s silent, allowing Bucky to align himself again before looking up and turning on his side.

“Listen, it doesn’t have to be anything special Buck. It’s just a question really, simple as that. Just ask him out.”

Bucky lets that sink in. It’s just a sentence, nothing more complicated than that. There’s no need for big gestures or special displays of love. All he really needs to do is ask.

Steve only moves away, back to his pile of schoolwork when he sees defeat give way to understanding, and soon determination shines across Bucky’s face.

“Good talk buddy.”

✶

The day of the marathon arrives, and it finds Bucky next to Steve as they get into their places. Sam has already gone and gave them, Bucky mostly a pep talk, giving him a dopey smile, before heading off to cheer with their group of friends. Natasha, Sharon and Clint have set up at the end of the race along with Clint’s young co-worker, Wanda who’s brother is also participating in the run. Apparently Clint’s adopted both of them who have taken eagerly to the man just like Kate and her crew. It must be his childish energy that is magnet to young people.

The horn goes off and runners are off. As predicted, the two of them spend the first few miles side by side, matching paces and making idle chat. It’s surprising fun and it’s pretty nice. Steve was right, this was a great way for them to spend some time together. As they reach the finish line, Steve shoots off like a rocket, leaving Bucky to chase after him like the asshole friend he is.

He crosses the line and feels a weight lift off his shoulders. Bucky notices a flash of movement, and then finds himself with an arm full of Sam, who wraps him in a tight hug.

“You did it! You did it! I knew you could do it!”

Bucky just laughs, and Sam leads him over the table to get his participation medal. A spark of inspiration flashes and Bucky pulls the medal off his neck and loops it around Sam. Then he takes him over to a quiet spot and takes a breath.

“Bucky?” Sam asks, confusion blooming on his face.

“Sam, will you accept this medal and go on a date with me?”

“Yeah, man, of course.” And with that, all the nerves Bucky has goes away. He cups his hand to the back of Sam’s neck and tugs him into a gentle kiss. When they pull apart, his ears are suddenly filled with cheers and whistles, and he turns around to find their friends looking in their direction. Bucky flips them off as Sam pulls him into another kiss.

✶

_As he looks down at the grave, Thomas is filled with nostalgic. It’s been a few crazy days as the world settles back into normalcy and Thomas takes the time to figure out where he goes from here._

_He walks away, heading back towards the entrance when he’s stopped by a whistle. Looking around, he pinpoints where the sound came from and a man finally steps out from out of the shadow._

_Dark brown locks flowing in the wind and sharp dangerous eyes meet his as the man comes to a stop in front of Thomas. His most noticeable feature is his arm, prosthetic and his energy reminds Thomas briefly of Luke from Star Wars._

_“Are you the man who defeated Phoenix?”_

_“Who’s asking?” Thomas retorts, his shoulders stiffen, guard already falling in place._

_“Pierson,” the man offers a hand and Thomas shakes it. “The White Wolf. We have a lot to talk about”_

**_The ending from J. Buchanan’s latest novel BlackWing, leading audiences to wonder whether it’s a possibility for a set up to the next novel._ **

**Author's Note:**

> A few points of reference that hint to MCU.
> 
> J. Buchanan is James Buchanan, part of Bucky’s real name.
> 
> Sharon, as in Agent 13, Clint aka Hawkeye, and Natasha aka the Black Widow. (also mentioned Tony Stark as in Iron Man, who I made an actor.)
> 
> In Black Panther, Bucky is referred as ‘The White Wolf’ by Shuri. 
> 
> (When I talk about the books that Bucky has written:) Sharon’s grandmother is based on Peggy Carter, the lieutenant in Clint’s book I imagined is Phil Coulson, and Clint’s girlfriend is obviously Natasha, who she and the book are based on Iron Man 2. 
> 
> Mr. Phillips, Steve and Bucky’s gym teacher is a nod to Colonel Chester Phillips who headed the project to create super soldiers and was a big part of Steve’s story to become Captain America in Captain America: The First Avenger. Because he was a part of the super soldier project, I added in this line as a nod to it: 'when they part, he has successfully distracted Steve, ending their conversation of Bucky running by talking about their old gym teacher Mr. Phillips, who spent most of their high school years trying to get Steve from scrawny to fit.'  
> Riley is Sam’s deceased wingman who he worked with as a pilot for the Falcon, and it referred to in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. 
> 
> The line, ‘did he really put newspapers in his shoes?’ is a nod to a line Bucky said in Captain America: Civil War. 
> 
> Sam’s nephew is a nod to The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, who casts Sam’s sister and his nephew on the show. 
> 
> This line, 'bucky did enjoy that time Steve assigned his students to put their own artistic twist on a meme of their own choosing. Steve proudly showed them off and a couple of them were funny, even though Bucky had to google them,' is inspired by a fic I recently read [here](https://archiveofourown.org/works/23401129)
> 
> Cassie, Scott, Hope, and Hank, from Antman, where Sam and Scott interact briefly and there’s lots of talk about ants. Also, Sam wanted to name the team after birds cause he's Falcon and he loves birds lol.
> 
> In the comics, it is noted that Bucky has a sister named Rebecca, and she is a psychic because I read a fic about her discovering tarot cards once and using them on Bucky.
> 
> Carol, Maria, and Monica from Captain Marvel. I like to think that her partner is Nick Fury and her help in working on the skrull’s side alludes to her working with families. Also, Monica is obsessed with space because she became quick friends with Talos and in Wandavision, talks about how there are allies in space. Of course, the cat is Goose, and in the comics, Bucky has a cat named Alpine.
> 
> The lines, ‘are you a spy, man? a secret russian agent who is sent to assassinate important figures? i can imagine it, you probably wear a mask”, and ‘or you’re like a billionaire who created a one of the kind machine that helps the government somehow and you can’t talk about it cause you signed a contract. if you do, they probably have a laser trained on you to kill you on spot,’ reminds me of Bucky as the winter soldier, secret assassin who killed jfk and became a weapon who was brainwashed every time he succumbed to his memories. 
> 
> The line, 'okay, first of all, thank you for finally putting in an animal sidekick. I was wondering how long it would take honestly…' refers to Sam's sidekick, Redwing, a drone he uses in the MCU. 
> 
> Katie, is Kate Bishop, who succeeds Clint in becoming Hawkeye, and her group of friends hint to the Young Avengers. 
> 
> Wanda and her brother are obviously Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver. I think I’m funny cause I put Pietro in the race and no duh, he won the race. 
> 
> In the book, I used the name Thomas as Sam, because in the comics, that’s his middle name. Also, BlackWing is one of the aliases he uses in the comics. In turn, Pierson is Bucky, because Joe Simon, who created Bucky along with Jack Kirby, named him after his friend Bucky Pierson. Phoenix is one of the aliases Helmut Zemo, the bad guy in Captain America: Civil War and The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, uses in the comics.


End file.
